Who were the real progressive and conservative candidates?

Chung Hyo-shik

The author is the social news editor at the JoongAng Ilbo. 

The June 3 local elections were unusually difficult for voters. Depending on where they lived, voters cast ballots for governors, education superintendents, mayors, county chiefs, district heads, metropolitan and local council members, as well as candidates in 14 parliamentary by-elections. Some received as many as eight ballots.

National political issues also shaped the vote. The election was widely viewed as a test of whether voters would support or check the Lee Jae Myung administration, while attention also focused on Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae, People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok and the political futures of figures such as Han Dong-hoon and Cho Kuk.

Many voters likely cast straight-party ballots. Even they, however, faced confusion when they reached the education superintendent ballot. Unlike other races, it carried no party labels and the order of candidates differed by district. The system was designed to preserve political neutrality in education and prevent automatic party-line voting.

The Seoul superintendent race was particularly notable.

Eight candidates entered the race, each claiming to represent the progressive, conservative or centrist camps. It was the largest field since the introduction of direct elections for education superintendents. Candidates promoted themselves with labels such as “unified democratic progressive candidate,” “democratic progressive citizens’ candidate,” “only true democratic progressive candidate,” “unified conservative candidate” and “unified centrist conservative candidate.”

Yet voters had little way of determining who the genuine progressive or conservative candidate was by examining campaign pledges or career backgrounds. The crowded field emerged from failed unification efforts and disputes within each ideological camp.

The conflict escalated into legal battles. Candidate Jung Keun-sik filed a police complaint against rival Han Man-joong, alleging false statements under election law over the use of the phrase “democratic progressive candidate.” Han also filed complaints against Jung’s side, accusing it of improper intervention in the primary process.

As a result, the superintendent race became intensely competitive. One conservative candidate also drew attention by placing banners across Seoul calling for the removal of “homosexuality education” from schools. While the campaign attracted attention, it was hardly educational and made many parents and students uncomfortable.

Questions about the superintendent election system are not new. Since direct elections were introduced in 2006, all four Seoul superintendents elected before the current race — Kong Jung-taek, Kwak No-hyun, Moon Yong-lin and Cho Hee-yeon — were found guilty of election-related or related legal violations, leading to new elections.

The latest vote came only one year and eight months after the October 2024 by-election that followed Cho’s removal from office after he was convicted over the special hiring of dismissed teachers, including members of the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union.

Each superintendent election costs roughly 56 billion won ($39 million), including 46 billion won in election administration expenses and 10 billion won in candidate reimbursements.

Against that backdrop, one may ask whether identifying the “real” progressive or conservative candidate matters more than solving educational problems such as school violence, restoring teachers’ authority and narrowing academic achievement gaps.

The struggle over Seoul’s annual education budget of about 11 trillion won has increasingly become a battle between political camps. Yet proposals to introduce joint tickets for governors and education superintendents continue to face opposition in the name of educational neutrality.

The broader local elections showed a similar pattern. Genuine grassroots issues, such as waste incineration and landfill facilities or power transmission lines near residential areas, were pushed aside. The intense mobilization efforts by rival political camps contributed to that outcome.

The nationwide election held one year after the launch of the current administration is now over. No national election is scheduled until the 23rd National Assembly election on April 12, 2028. The next year and 10 months may provide one of the last opportunities for the Lee administration to focus on governing rather than campaigning. It is time to move beyond special counsel investigations and demonstrate results on pressing issues such as youth employment and housing stability.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.